Friday, December 30, 2011

Mojo

I got a chance to try out yet another new Moyes glider yesterday. Gerolf has been working on another design for the past couple of months. The Mojo is meant to be glider for those guys that don't want to fly a kingposted glider, but aren't so competitive that they need to be on a glider that doesn't have the easiest handling. Personally, I don't understand why more guys don't fly the Litesport - I'm sure it's an ego thing (kingpost and all). But with such lovely handling and nearly the performance of a Litespeed at most speeds, unless you're fighting for a place in the top 20, it's the perfect glider.

But, enough of my little rant - back to the Mojo ;-) I got about two hours in it yesterday here in Forbes. It seems to me that it is precisely what Gerolf intended. If he hadn't told me before flying it what he had in mind for the designing, my first thought would have been that it's somewhere between my Litesport and Carl's RS. What I love most about my glider is that it feels totally solid, it never scares me. But, with that solid feeling, the handling has never been quite a light as Carl's RS. Part of that, I'm sure, is the fact that I'm a tad small on the Litesport 4, but it always has required a bit more muscling that ever feel was necessary on the RS. Anyway, the Mojo has the light feel of the RS, but with that same solid feeling as my Litesport. And, it tows like a dream!....much easier than I'm used to.

I would love to be able to compare the Mojo to the sweet little RX3 I flew last week, but it's definitely an apples/oranges thing. The Mojo is a bit bigger (more my size really) and it's impossible to compare ridge soaring at Stanwell Park to thermaling at Forbes.

1 comment:

I've never quite understood why there aren't full complements of competitors in the lower classes. There are plenty of pilots who really belong on kingposted gliders or even single surface gliders.

I did a ton of motocross racing and there was never any shame in being in one of the beginner classes (which is where I raced mostly). And the really cool part is that one can be super-competitive in those classes.

But in hang-gliding, it appears that everyone goes to a topless glider ASAP even if their skills aren't quite there yet. Puzzling.